Toy railroad



1. H. BRADLEY. TOY RAILROAD.

APPUCATON FILED FEB. 24.1920.

.Patented Feb. 1, 1921.

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UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.'

JAMES H. BRADLEY, or nENfroN, MONTANA.

TOY RAILROAD.

To all who/ln t mais] concern:

Be it known that I, JAMEs Il. BRADLEY, a citizen of the United States, and a resident ci Denton, in the county oi Fergus and State of Montana, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Toy Railroads, of which the following is a specification.

My invention is a simple and inexpensive device which will be a source o'l pleasure to children, while developing their power ot concentration.

Stated generally the invention comprises a teeter board over which a wheeled figure is caused to roll by the tilting ot the board.

An embodiment of the invention is illus trated in the laccom aan in@ drawings in which-- Figure l is a plan view and Fig. 2 a side view of the device arranged for use.

Fig. 3 a side view showing the board folded; and

Fig. et is a detail plan view oil a deiiector.

The board consists oit two similar oblong plates l and connected at their meeting ends by hinges i5, and provided at their outer tree ends with upstanding strips or stop rails Ll. Links 5 are pivoted at their upper ends to the edges of the board members 1 and 2 and at their lower ends are pivoted to each other, the pivot 6 being a tightly fitting rivet whereby the frictional engagement between the opposed faces of the links will tend to hold them in a set position and prevent collapse of the toy while it is in use. It will be readily noted that when the device is not in use it may be folded into a smallV space as shown in Fig. 3 and when set up for use the links serve as a ulcrum or rocker Jfor the board as well as a lock or brace to prevent folding thereof.

On the upper side of the board are strips 7, representing rails and defining a plurality of tracks, 8, 9, 10 and 11, extending 'from end to end or the board. At one end of the board may be placed a symbol 12, indicating a station, and at the opposite end ci the board may be placed a symbol 13, indicating a roundhouse, the symbols being in diag-- onally opposite corners as shown.

Intermediate the ends of the board members 1 and 2, reversely curved strips 14 and 15 are placed within the tracks 9 and 10, to represent switch rails and similar strips or Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Feb. Il., 21.921.

Application filed February 24, 1920. Serial No. 360,791.

rails 16 are placed within the tracks li and 11, it being noted that the ends of all said. switch rails are spaced from the adjacent track rails. Some of the tracks are interrupted, as at 17, and cross-over switch rails 1S, extend between adjacent tracks at the points of interruption. Each cross over rail forms a point with one track rail but merges smoothly into the adjacent track rail and continuity of travel in a straight line is provided by the short track rail sections 19, between the rails 18. it the entrance ot each switch or cross-over, l provide within each track a deflector or guard 2O weich consists of a flat substantially T-shaped plate, the head having a convoi: edge 2l and the stem having a longitudinal slot through which. a securing screw 28 is inserted into the board so that the deilector orguard may be adjusted toward or :trom a track rail and also set so to present either end to the track rail. y l

A rolling object, such as a toy locomotive, as shown at 2li, is provided to run on the Gti tracks and this object, might et course well be any character oi wheeled toy.

The object 'to be attained inv using the toy is to cause the locomotive to run trom. the station to the round house or vice versa and this is accomplished by tilting or rocking the board after setting the guards or deflectors so that some of the switches will be open and others closed. For example, assuming the board to be in the position shown in Fig. 2, and the locomotive to be placed at the sta tion 12, the locomotive will roll to the opposite end of the track 8, where it will be stopped by the rail 4. The board is then rocked so as to tilt in the opposite direction whereupon the locomotive will start a return trip on the track 8, but, it the deilectors have been properly set the locomotive will be turned aside over one or'1 the switches and caused to run onto the track 9 and it will be understood that the locomotive may be shifted at either switch according to the manner in which the deilectors are set. l/Vhen the board is again rocked, the locomotive will travel the length of the track 9, being subsequently in the same manner shifted to the tracks 10 and 11 successively and passing along the latter to the roundhouse. Obviously by properly setting the deflectors the locomotive may be caused to travelfrom the roundhouse to the station. The device is exceedingly simple and inexpensive and contains nothing whatever that is apt to get out of order or misplaced.

Various modifications and changes may be made in the form ot the device one eirbodiment of which is shown in the accompanying drawing, without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention, and as set forth in the claims hereto appended, such for instance as the making or' the device in one piece instead of foldable, or the entire device might be made of one piece of metal with the tracks formed therefrom and integral therewith, and various other modiications all of which would be included within the scope of the appended claims.

Having thus t'ullj7 described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters iDatent of the United States, is-

l. A toy comprising a sectional board, a foldable brace attached to adjacent sections of the board and forming a rocker for the same when extended, and a rolling object te travel on the board.

2. A toj7 comprising a heard consisting` of similar sections hinged together at; their meeting ends, links pivoted together and having theirfree ends pivoted to the edges of the sections adjacent and at opposite sides of the hinged connection between the same, the combined length of the links being greater than the distance between their peints of attachment to the sections of the board, whereby when the board is extended the links will form a ulrum therefor, and a rolling object to travel on the board.

3. A toy comprising a board consisting of sections hinged together at their meeting ends, means on which said heard is adapted to rock, tracks extending l'rom end to end ot' the board, goals at diagonally opposite points of the board, switches connecting adjacent tracks, and means en the hoard to guide the object along the tracks erento the switches.

et. A toy comprising a hoard consisting of sections hinged togetheil at their meeting ends, means on which said board is adapted to rock` tracks on the hoard` switches connecting adjacent tracks, deiectors on the beard within the tracks adjacent the switches, and a rolling object to run on the tracks.

5. A toy comprising a board consisting or' sections hinged together at their meeting ends,v means on which said board is adapted to reck. tracks on the board, switches connecting adjacent tracks, stop rails at the ends of the board, and a rolling object to travel on the tracks and switches.

(5. A toy comprising a hoard, means on which said board is adapted to rock, strips on the board forming tracks and switches. de'iectors at the entrances of the switches adjustable transverselj7 and pivotally and ay rolling object to travel on the said Strips.

A toy comprising a board, means on which said board is adapted to rock, strips on the board forming tracks and switches, a rolling object to travel on said strips, and delectors at the entrances to the switches each consisting of a substantially T-shaped plate, the head of the T having a convex edge and the stem having` a longitudinal slot through which a fastening is inserted into the board.

JAMES H. BRADLEY. 

